Senior Spacecraft Structures Engineer

Star Catcher; Jacksonville (FL); On-site; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision coverage

401(k) retirement plan

Life insurance

Paid parental leave

Job summary

Star Catcher is seeking a Senior Spacecraft Structures Engineer in Jacksonville, FL to lead the structural architecture of spacecraft and oversee FEA, verification, and launch interface definition. You will coordinate across mechanical, optical, thermal, and manufacturing teams to ensure robust design and successful qualification.

Qualifications include 10+ years in spacecraft structural design, leadership experience, and strong Ansys Mechanical skills.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in mechanical, structural, or aerospace engineering and at least ten years of spacecraft structural design experience.
• Experience leading space systems development from concept through qualification and flight.
• Experience performing and reviewing structural analysis in Ansys Mechanical across static, modal, random vibration, and shock load cases.
• Familiarity with NASA-STD-5001 margin of safety reporting and NASA-STD-5019 fracture control.

Responsibilities

• Own the structural architecture of the spacecraft, including primary structure and deployable configurations.
• Define design and verification criteria, margins of safety, and load case definitions.
• Direct finite element modeling and analysis and review models before release.
• Own structural-thermal-optical performance of precision assemblies and coordinate with optics/thermal teams.
• Lead vibration test campaigns from planning to model correlation.

Skills

Spacecraft design

Finite element analysis

Leadership

Vibration testing

Launch vehicle interfaces

Problem solving

Python scripting

Education

Bachelor's in mechanical/structural/aerospace engineering

Master's or PhD (preferred)

Tools

Ansys Mechanical

Autodesk Inventor

APDL scripting

Job description

Power the future of Space at Star Catcher

Star Catcher is building the first energy grid in space to power the orbital economy.

Today’s spacecraft must generate all of their own power, which caps what they can do and how long they can operate. But what if they could “plug” into a grid, the way buildings do on Earth? Instead of cables and outlets, Star Catcher is building the technology to wirelessly beam energy to spacecraft’s existing solar panels when and where they need it.

Be an early member of a team building an entirely new energy infrastructure at scale to power the next frontier.

Star Catcher Industries, Inc., located in Jacksonville, Florida, has an opportunity for a Senior Spacecraft Structures Engineer to support the development of space-to-space power beaming spacecraft and the Star Catcher Network, its orbital power grid. As a subject matter expert (SME), the ideal candidate will bring extensive experience with all phases of the spacecraft structures development process, including structural architecture, load definition, finite element analysis, launch vehicle interfaces, vibration testing, and qualification.

Key Responsibilities

• Own the structural architecture of the spacecraft, including the primary structure, load paths, and the stowed and deployed configurations of deployable structures.
• Establish program structural design and verification criteria, such as factors of safety, load case definition, and margin of safety reporting per NASA-STD-5001, and approve margins for flight.
• Direct finite element modeling and analysis across the structures team, and review models, load cases, and margin reports before release.
• Own structural-thermal-optical performance of precision optical assemblies under high thermal flux, and negotiate line-of-sight and wavefront error allocations with the optical and thermal teams.
• Lead vibration test campaigns, from instrumentation plan and success criteria through anomaly disposition and model correlation closure.
• Define structural interfaces to the launch vehicle and separation system, and own the coupled loads analysis cycle with the launch provider through closure.
• Support the systems engineering team in writing detailed requirements for structures functionality and the methods for verification.
• Serve as the technical focal point for structures across mechanical design, opto-mechanical, thermal, electrical, and manufacturing.
• Create technical documentation for proposals, design reviews, and test reports which demonstrate rigor and expertise for the goal of executing on program deliverables and winning of new programs.
• Mentor structures engineers and analysts, and establish standards for structural design, analysis processes, documentation, and review practices for the discipline.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in mechanical, structural, or aerospace engineering, or a related field, and a minimum of ten years of experience in spacecraft structural design and analysis.
• Demonstrated leadership of space systems development, including ownership of a structure from concept through qualification and flight.
• Experience performing and reviewing structural analysis in Ansys Mechanical or equivalent across static, modal, random vibration, and shock load cases.
• Working knowledge of aerospace structural criteria, including margin of safety reporting, bolted joint analysis, factors of safety per NASA-STD-5001, and fracture control per NASA-STD-5019 or equivalent.
• Experience owning vibration test campaigns, including instrumentation plans, anomaly disposition, and model correlation to test data.
• Experience serving as the structures interface to a launch vehicle provider, including coupled loads analysis cycles and interface requirements documents.
• Creative problem-solving skills, with the capability to develop innovative solutions to advanced engineering challenges.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master's or PhD degree in mechanical or aerospace engineering, or a related field.
• Analysis of deployable structures, hinges, latches, and stowed launch load paths.
• Experience with composite, bonded, or lightweight panel construction.
• Proficiency with CAD in Autodesk Inventor or equivalent, and scripting in Python or APDL to automate model builds and margin reporting.
• Familiarity regulations and standards relevant to space missions and operations.
• Ability to effectively communicate and work in a multidisciplinary team setting while prioritizing tasks, multiple projects, and personnel.
• Ability to identify risks to the structural components of a spacecraft and assist in developing mitigation efforts, drafting changes to the requirements, or documenting requests for waivers.

Help us deploy and scale space infrastructure that will drive our utilization of space forward! We offer a highly competitive benefits package including access to comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage, 401(k) retirement plan, life insurance, and paid parental leave, in addition to other benefits.

Star Catcher is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with Star Catcher is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.

All offers of employment at Star Catcher are contingent upon results of a thorough background check and your ability to provide proof of eligibility to work in the US.

To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) you must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.